You always have to expect the unexpected in the NFL, but the NFC looks loaded for the 2026 season. There may be as many as 15 teams legitimately competing for playoff spots this season, and the battle to take Seattle's spot atop the conference officially begins when training camp kicks off in the very near future.
The field of teams heading into the 2026 season is maybe the best and most competitive we've ever seen. The 2025 season included a number of breakout teams, the quarterback play around the league is no longer top-heavy, and this is going to potentially be the best season we've had in a long time.
Our latest NFL Power Rankings before training camps get underway around the league will once again try to make sense of the NFC. How do these teams stack up against each other after all of the big moves made this offseason?
NFL Power Rankings: Every NFC team ranked worst to best before training camp in 2026
16. Arizona Cardinals
Out of every team in the NFC right now, the Arizona Cardinals legitimately feel like the only one that doesn't have a great shot at making it to the postseason. And that's not to single them out, but they're truly the only team that's in rebuilding mode right now. Every other team in the NFC seems to have either a strong foundation, or a strong enough roster core to compete.
The Cardinals are building something, there's no doubt. But they don't currently have the quarterback position figured out. We'll see how things go with Carson Beck if/when he gets a chance at some point this season.
This is a team with some really exciting weapons offensively, starting with All-Pro tight end Trey McBride. The Cardinals used the 3rd overall pick on Jeremiyah Love, and the price tag on that pick will put intense pressure on the rookie. If there's anything this team can write home about, it's the playmakers they have offensively. But that's their starting point for the time being. They are probably still at least another year away from being in any playoff conversations.
15. New York Giants
The New York Giants started off the 2026 offseason exceptionally well, bringing in John Harbaugh as their next head coach after a disastrous year in 2025.
Even though things ended poorly for the Giants last year, they had a little bit of a moment at one point during the season, and you can see the vision starting to come to fruition. The biggest problem for this team right now is not talent on the roster, but injuries.
And it's not just a testing of the team's depth, but the stars on the team missing significant time, or having major issues even going into this season. The progression of Jaxson Dart will loom large for this team, but it's easy to see why the Giants' fan base is excited about the future. If this young roster core can stay healthy, they could be dangerous in 2026.
14. New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are one of the most underrated teams in the NFL right now. You don't want to put too much on them in the way of expectations this season, but the way they played last year -- especially in the second half of the season -- should inspire some confidence that they can compete, especially in arguably the weakest division in football.
Tyler Shough's unexpected second-half surge gave the Saints something to build around, and that's exactly what they did this offseason. Shough is a dual-threat on his own, but he's now got some real help around him. The Saints added Jordyn Tyson and Bryce Lance at receiver in the NFL Draft to put with Chris Olave, and they went out in free agency where they found upgrades on the offensive line (David Edwards) and at running back (Travis Etienne).
This team already had a sneaky-good defense last season, and they made some fun moves to upgrade on that side of the ball as well. Progression in the NFL isn't always linear, so we'll see how it goes in year two for Shough, but the optimism is understandably high.
13. Washington Commanders
Nobody in the NFL gave up more yards last year than the Washington Commanders. Even with the injuries this team dealt with, the regression from making it all the way to the NFC Championship Game in 2024 was equal parts staggering and disappointing.
But the reality of the NFL is that most teams can't overcome long-term injuries to the quarterback position. Jayden Daniels missed 10 games last season, and his status obviously will be the major determining factor for how good this team is capable of being in 2026.
Even with all of the huge upgrades on the defensive side of the ball. The Commanders got some playmakers off the edge and at the linebacker position, so they should be tougher on that side of the ball, but the question marks about the offense are still big ones.
Daniels is so dynamic, he can make up for the lack of elite talent around him at receiver and running back, but the Commanders need him at full strength all year. This team still feels like it needs a few more pieces, but if they could do it in 2024, they can do it in 2026.
12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
For the first half of the 2025 season, the Buccaneers looked like they were on their way toward contending for a spot in the NFC Championship Game. But the operation went completely off the rails in the second half of the season.
Now, it feels like this is a make-or-break year for head coach Todd Bowles as well as quarterback Baker Mayfield, who is entering a contract year. Losing multiple really good offensive coordinators doesn't help but Mayfield has to be better than we saw in the second half last season.
Just like most teams with talent who underachieved last season, the Buccaneers dealt with a lot of injuries throughout the year. But they also had issues on the defensive line that might be fixed with the addition of Rueben Bain in the 2026 NFL Draft. That fortuitous draft steal gives the Bucs an every-down threat who can rush the quarterback from multiple positions.
Not having Mike Evans or Lavonte David is going to be weird to see for this team, but it's time for Mayfield to really step up. In the final 8 games last season, Mayfield completed less than 62 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He averaged just just under 188 yards per game. It's almost no wonder the Bucs dropped out of the postseason race entirely.
11. Carolina Panthers
Shockingly, the Carolina Panthers emerged just enough this past season to win the NFC South and make a little noise in their playoff matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Panthers actually played the Rams extremely tough twice last season, and the high points of the 2025 season are really fueling the optimism for this team in 2026.
Carolina finally feels like they have a core to build around, even though the jury is still out on Bryce Young. But this is the year where Young will have the opportunity to earn his big-money contract and prove why the Panthers used the #1 pick in the draft (trading a haul in the process) to take him.
Young has plenty of help around him at the offensive skill positions, and the Panthers are one of the most improved teams in the NFL defensively over the last two years. They upgraded even more this offseason with the additions of Jaelan Phillips off the edge and Devin Lloyd at linebacker. This team should be good for another 9 wins at minimum in 2026.
10. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons are one of the toughest teams to figure out in the NFC entering the 2026 season. They were one of three teams in the NFC South last year to win 8 games, but they might look the most different of them all.
The Falcons were the only team in the NFC South this offseason to make a change at head coach, firing Raheem Morris and bringing in Kevin Stefanski in his place. In fact, it was a complete overhaul of the brain trust for the Falcons, who now have Matt Ryan in the front office and Ian Cunningham helping build the roster.
The major question mark for Atlanta is obviously a big one: Quarterback. We don't know whether it's going to be Tua Tagovailoa or Michael Penix Jr. for this season, but whoever it is will have some big-time playmakers to get the ball to. The trio of Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts is as enviable of a trio as you'll find in the NFL.
The defense is what gives the Falcons the edge over their peers in the NFC South right now. The pass rush saw a significant upgrade last season, and Jeff Ulbrich's unit managed to rank 7th in the league in takeaways. The talent seems to be there for the Falcons to make a push for the division title if they can get competent quarterback play.
9. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings are one of the teams in the NFC with a major question mark at the quarterback position, and it's a situation they really shouldn't be in.
After the 2024 season, the Vikings let Sam Darnold walk in free agency, then watched him win the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks. It was made all the more torturous because JJ McCarthy has failed to develop into the starting quarterback of this team after the Vikings moved up to get him in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Now, McCarthy is competing with Kyler Murray for the starting job, although that job feels like it's more Murray's job to lose than a true competition.
The quarterback competition is causing the Vikings' issues on the defensive side of the ball to be overlooked a bit. This team moved on from a number of major contributors on the defensive line this offseason (Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave, Jonathan Greenard), and Harrison Phillips is also gone. Brian Flores has a tough task ahead of him, and so does this team.
8. Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys obviously have the type of offense that could contend for a championship, but their defense was one of the worst the franchise has ever seen.
The trade of Micah Parsons was bad enough, but his departure was just the tip of the iceberg. The Cowboys couldn't put together any sort of stretch of competence on that side of the ball last season, and they completely overhauled at every level.
New defensive coordinator Christian Parker has a huge task before him, but the personnel on that side of the ball looks improved enough that the Cowboys could realistically be a factor in the NFC East. Even with a horrendous defense, they still gave the Eagles fits last year, and Dak Prescott is one of the best quarterbacks in the entire league.
With Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Javonte Williams, and that crew they have on offense, the Cowboys have what it takes to win their division in 2026. But how far can their defense take them beyond that?
7. Green Bay Packers
It's tough to say the Packers have missed a window or anything like that, but the number of veterans leaving town this past offseason felt like a soft reset.
General manager Brian Gutekunst and head coach Matt LaFleur have done such a good job identifying and developing talent, but they are putting that development process to the test this season in a big way.
The offensive line has a new look with Jordan Morgan and Anthony Belton stepping into new roles. The defensive front lost a lot of guys, and Micah Parsons is expected to miss the first part of the season while he recovers from his knee injury from last season.
The youth movement is on for the Packers, but this is where Matt LaFleur thrives. And he's got Jonathan Gannon on the other side of the ball, and we've seen what Gannon can do on that side of the ball.
With the improvements Jordan Love has made over the past few years, it's easy to see this Packers team still being around as far as the Divisional or Championship Round. He's that much of a difference-maker.
6. Detroit Lions
The disappointment of going from winning 15 games to missing the playoffs completely is going to fuel the Detroit Lions in 2026.
This is simply too talented of a team not to be around when it comes time for January football, and the Lions know that.
Although the roster obviously looks different, the primary cast of characters remains the same. Jared Goff is a model of consistency at the quarterback position, and he has a truly elite group of weapons to get the ball to, starting with Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Sam LaPorta.
The Lions revamped their offensive line a bit this offseason, moving Penei Sewell to left tackle to replace Taylor Decker, then drafting Blake Miller in the 1st round. They also gave their defensive front a boost by taking Derrick Moore in the 2nd round out of Michigan to hopefully pair with Aidan Hutchinson.
Even before Terrion Arnold's off-field situation, the secondary was a question mark for this team, and that remains their major issue going into camp.
5. Philadelphia Eagles
After a wildly disappointing year offensively in 2025, the Philadelphia Eagles made some major changes on that side of the ball for the 2026 season.
They finally relented and traded AJ Brown to the New England Patriots, and their hope is that he realizes that the grass is greenest where you water it, not just on the other side of the fence. Losing Brown in a championship window is not a small deal, especially for an offense that already struggled quite a bit last season.
Jalen Hurts now has playmakers like Makai Lemon, Dontayvion Wicks, and Hollywood Brown to get the ball to, and maybe without the pressure coming from Brown, he'll be able to relax a little bit more. The Eagles know they need to be better from an entire operation standpoint offensively, because they hired Sean Mannion to replace Kevin Patullo as the offensive coordinator in 2026.
The defense won't be an issue with Vic Fangio scheming things up. That side of the ball will be taken care of. The Eagles have to re-discover themselves offensively, but they should be in the mix as Super Bowl contenders again.
4. Chicago Bears
After their breakout season in 2025, everyone seems to be riding the Chicago Bears' bandwagon in 2026. And that's understandable.
Ben Johnson was obviously the perfect fit as the head coach of this team, and the Bears' young offensive core absolutely exploded in his scheme last season. Most notably, of course, was the development of Caleb Williams.
The #1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft rebounded after a tough rookie season by cutting down on turnover worthy plays, making much better decisions with the football, and ultimately leading the Bears to one of the best seasons they've had as a franchise in recent memory. And he's got the likes of Colston Loveland, Rome Odunze, and Luther Burden to keep growing with.
The biggest question mark for the Bears right now is whether or not their defense can keep it up in the takeaways department. They led the NFL in that category last year, but the defense had some rough stretches outside of taking the ball away a bunch. If they can take another step on that side of the ball, this team could realistically represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
3. San Francisco 49ers
Even with so many injuries last season, the 49ers still managed to win 12 games and stay competitive in the best division in the NFL.
Kyle Shanahan is obviously a great head coach, but seemingly one of the unluckiest in the NFL at times as well. It feels like whenever the 49ers have one key group of players healthy, they're missing another entire group of mission-critical guys.
Last year, the 49ers had the fewest sacks of any team in the NFL, which isn't surprising considering they didn't have Nick Bosa for most of the season. But they are going to have to be much better in the pass rush department to take over their division in 2026. We already know this team has the pieces in place to be elite on the offensive side of the ball, seemingly even if Brock Purdy has to miss time.
The one non-negotiable player seems to be Christian McCaffrey, who is impossible to contend when he's fully healthy. If this team gets a clean bill of health, they might even be better than the Los Angeles Rams as a team.
2. Seattle Seahawks
There will always be some major changes to a roster that wins a Super Bowl, and the Seahawks have not been an exception in 2026.
They lost Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker to the Kansas City Chiefs. They said goodbye to a number of key players on their defense, including Coby Bryant, Riq Woolen, Boye Mafe, and others.
The most notable loss, however, is offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who is now the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. Did the Seahawks catch lightning in a bottle last season, or are they truly going to be established and entrenched at the top of the NFC under head coach Mike Macdonald?
This year will be a fascinating test to see. Even with all of the losses they've had to deal with on the roster, it still feels like this is one of the most talented teams in the league with a shot to win back-to-back championships.
1. Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are going to be pretty much everybody's pick as the most talented team in the NFL coming into the 2026 season.
This is a stacked roster and the first one in NFL history to feature the reigning NFL MVP and Defensive Player of the Year. And if things keep progressing the way everyone assumes, they'll soon be adding Aaron Donald back into the mix as well.
It's hard to find a real weakness on this roster outside of some depth concerns in certain areas, but with the Rams hitting their stride offensively last year, having the elite pieces added to the defense feels almost unfair.
They won the Super Bowl back in the 2021 season, and you can't help but feel like they're well on their way to another championship in 2026.